Tatjana Maria advanced to the 2026 Lexus Eastbourne Open final on Friday, after Jelena Ostapenko retired from the pair's semifinal match due to illness.
The 38-year-old German led 6-1, 1-2 when Ostapenko withdrew, citing a bout of heat stroke earlier this week.
Tatjana Maria Outplays Jenna Ostapenko Before Eastbourne Exit
Tatjana Maria controlled the match from the opening game, saving five break points before building a 3-0 lead in the first set. Her tactical slicing and precise court movement kept Jenna Ostapenko off balance throughout.
The Latvian committed 20 unforced errors compared to just three from Maria, before a medical timeout at 4-1 made clear the world No. 35 was struggling physically.
After Maria took the first set, Ostapenko broke early in the second. But Maria fought back before a rain delay interrupted play. Ostapenko did not return to court once the weather cleared up.
The result makes Maria the oldest finalist in Eastbourne Open history. She is also making her main draw debut this year, after previously bowing out during the 2025 tournament's qualifiers.
Ranked No. 112, the grass-court specialist has already knocked off No. 14 Jasmine Paolini and Tereza Valentova during her path to the Eastbourne Open final. She'll next face two-time winner Madison Keys in this weekend's title match.
Carolina Blaze rookies Karlyn Pickens and Reese Atwood sit atop the 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) All-Star Cup fan vote with less than a week of balloting left.
Pickens, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 College Draft, leads the pitcher category. She carries a 1.47 earned run average while holding the league's fastest-pitch record for the Blaze.
Still, the race to the circle remains tight. Montana Fouts and Sam Landry trail closely with ERAs of 1.81 and 1.15, respectively. All three could end up making an appearance at the professional softball league's All-Star tournament.
And behind the plate, Atwood has been just as difficult to overlook.
The former Texas Longhorn is slashing .450/.522/1.000 while ranking in the Top 10 in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. She's also tallied three home runs and seven RBIs for the Carolina Blaze through the season's early stretch.
How to Vote for the 2026 AUSL All-Star Cup
The 2026 All-Star Cup runs August 8-30 in Rosemont, IL and features 60 players. Teams change after every series, with the top three point-earners drafting fresh rosters as captains.
Fans have until June 30th to lock in their picks for automatic invitations to the tournament.
Maya Brady is just 11 games into the 2026 AUSL season and she's already nearing a record no one has reached.
The Oklahoma City Spark utility player currently leads the AUSL with five home runs and 11 RBIs. Her batting average lands her in the league's Top 10, keeping all three Triple Crown categories in play.
Brady additionally ranks high in on-base percentage (.575) while leading the league in runs scored (13). She has recorded a hit in every professional matchup she's played — a 16-game streak stretching back to her 2025 debut with the Utah Talons.
Maya Brady Faces AUSL Triple Crown Challengers
Despite Brady's grip on the standings, the competition for the Triple Crown remains tight.
Veteran Chicago Bandits slugger Sami Williams matches Brady's RBI count while trailing close behind in batting average (.467) and home runs (three). Elsewhere, Carolina Blaze rookie Reese Atwood follows with eight RBIs and a .450 batting average.
Brady joined the Spark as the No. 1 overall pick in December's Expansion Draft. With more than a third of the season complete, she holds the edge in all three Triple Crown categories. Winning the title would be a first for the second-year pro softball league — if she manages to keep pace.
Her team, however, has ground to make up.
Oklahoma City lost to the defending champion Utah Talons on Monday, with pitcher Montana Fouts holding Brady's side to four hits. The defeat dropped Oklahoma to 5-6 on the season.
Naomi Osaka punched her ticket to the first grass-court final of her career on Friday. The four-time Grand Slam champion beat No. 52 Wang Xinyu in straight sets at the WTA 500 event in Bad Homburg, leaning on her serve and heavy baseline game to control the match from the opening games.
Osaka broke Wang's serve in the sixth game of the first set and held steady from there.
A brief serving lapse early in the second set threatened to shift the momentum. But the world No. 15 quickly settled back in, hitting eight aces and winning 79% of her first-serve points.
Osaka also converted four of her seven break-point chances, leaving Wang little room to compete. She eventually broke Wang three more times to close out the comfortable win.
Naomi Osaka Finds Her Footing on Grass at Bad Homburg
The result caps a sharp week on grass for Osaka, who has won every match in straight sets. After Thursday's quarterfinal, she credited coach Tomas Högstedt for helping her adapt to the surface.
"Obviously I can't say that I've had much experience on grass, but I feel really good right now," Osaka said after her win. "Tomas is helping me understand grass a lot more, so I feel pretty comfortable at this point."
Now, the 28-year-old turns her attention to Saturday's 2026 Bad Homburg Open final, marking her first shot at a WTA Tour title since the 2021 Australian Open. She awaits the winner of the other semifinal between No. 4 seed Karolina Muchova and qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Jonquel Jones delivered a blunt message to her New York Liberty side after Thursday's 99-88 Liberty vs Storm loss. The defeat marked New York's third in its last four games, as it dropped to 12-7 on the season.
Jones finished with a team-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including three 3-pointers and eight rebounds. Still, the individual effort wasn't enough to overcome a Seattle squad that led by as much as 16 in the fourth quarter.
The Liberty cut the gap late, but never seriously threatened to complete the comeback.
Jonquel Jones Demands More After Liberty vs Storm Loss
Afterward, Jonquel Jones pointed the finger towards herself.
"We have to come out with a certain level of intensity," Jones said. "We have to look in the mirror individually and find ways to be better defensively, first and foremost."
Then she took her remarks to the next level.
"It's not about the reps, it's not about playing time, it's not about none of that stuff. It's about having some heart and playing with some f***ing heart," Jones added.
On Seattle's side, rookie Flau'jae Johnson led the way with a career-high 28 points and nine rebounds, snapping the Storm's 11-game losing streak.
A'ja Wilson scored 32 points to lead Las Vegas past Dallas in Thursday night's Wings vs Aces showdown. The 99-84 win helped Las Vegas avoid a regular-season sweep and recover after Tuesday's loss to the New York Liberty.
The Aces set the pace early with a 10-0 run that built toward a 15-4 lead, eventually closing the first quarter at 28-17. Dallas's fiery offense subsequently cut the deficit to 53-49 in the third quarter, but couldn't get any closer.
The Wings shot just 2-for-21 from 3-point range, while Las Vegas controlled the glass with a 35-24 rebounding edge and shot 53.3% from the field.
Guard Chelsea Gray Makes WNBA History in Wings vs Aces Win
Along the way, star Aces guard Chelsea Gray hit a career milestone. She finished with 12 points and nine assists, becoming the fourth player in WNBA history to reach 4,500 career points and 2,000 assists.
Jackie Young added 20 points, including a four-point play in the third quarter that stopped Dallas's push.
For the Wings, Paige Bueckers scored 25 points while Jessica Sheppard added 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Marina Mabrey scored 53 points on Thursday night, tying the WNBA single-game scoring record in Toronto's 125-97 Sparks vs Tempo win.
Marina Mabrey Ties Multiple WNBA Records Against Sparks
The Tempo guard went 17-of-28 from the field and tied the league mark with nine 3-pointers on 18 attempts. She also hit 10 of 12 free throws in just 32 minutes.
Her performance matches the single-game records set by Liz Cambage in 2018 and A'ja Wilson in 2023. Still, Mabrey didn't even realize she was close until her sister Michaela, sitting courtside, told her she was three points away from the WNBA record.
"After you get into a state like that, it's kind of hard to know what you're really doing," Mabrey said. "I think tonight was just my night from the 3-point line and from honestly everywhere. It was all going in."
Toronto also got a record-setting night from guard Julie Allemand, who dished 14 assists with zero turnovers while consistently finding Mabrey in rhythm.
For LA, Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby led the struggling Sparks with 21 points apiece.
Where to Watch This Weekend's WNBA Games
With the win, the Tempo even their record at 9-9. The Sparks, meanwhile, drop to 8-9.
Next up, Toronto hosts the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday at 2 PM ET, before LA takes on the Indiana Fever for an 8 PM ET. Both WNBA games air live on CBS.
Alyssa Thomas will miss one game after the WNBA suspended the Phoenix Mercury forward for catching Caitlin Clark in the throat during Wednesday's Fever vs Mercury win.
The league announced the decision Thursday, following a postgame video review of the physical matchup between the two rival teams.
WNBA Upgrades Alyssa Thomas Foul on Caitlin Clark to Flagrant 2
The contact came with just over six minutes left in the second quarter, as both players went after a loose ball. Thomas appeared to push off Clark's neck with a closed fist after the scramble before stepping over her, but the WNBA referees on the floor called no foul.
After reviewing the play, the league upgraded the contact to a Flagrant 2 foul and classified it as a "non-basketball act." As a result, Thomas will sit out Phoenix's Saturday game against the Toronto Tempo.
Phoenix went on to win the game 111-109. Clark, meanwhile, finished with 19 points and eight assists before exiting early in the third quarter with a back injury.
Fever Coach Criticizes WNBA Officials After Clark Injury
The missed call drew sharp criticism from Indiana's leadership. Fever head coach Stephanie White called the lack of a penalty "absolutely unacceptable" and argued that officials hold Clark to a different standard than other players.
Fever president Kelly Krauskopf echoed those concerns, stressing that player safety must remain the league's top priority.
Indiana will next take on the LA Sparks on Saturday at 8 PM ET, before Phoenix travels to Toronto at 2 PM ET. Both WNBA games air live on CBS.
Indiana Fever teammates Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark now hold the top two spots in 2026 WNBA All-Star fan voting. The league released its second-round returns Wednesday, revealing a major shift from the initial ballot.
Indiana Fever Stars Surge Up 2026 WNBA All-Star Voting
Boston leads all players with 683,996 votes, while Clark follows closely at 670,510. Just one round earlier, Clark sat in fifth place and Boston in third. But the uptick in fan votes mirrors the pair's performance on the court.
Clark is currently averaging 21.3 points and 8.2 assists per game, while Boston is pulling down 8.6 rebounds to accompany her 16.6 points per game.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson dropped from first to third with 659,057 votes, despite leading the league in scoring at 25.1 points per game. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart follow her to round out the Top 5.
How WNBA All-Star Game Voting Works
Fan ballots close Saturday night and account for 50% of the All-Star final selection. Current players and a media panel each contribute the remaining 25%.
The top four guards and six frontcourt players will earn starting spots for the July 25th All-Star Game at Chicago's United Center, airing live on ABC at 8:30 PM ET.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda arrives at Hazeltine National this week chasing more than a third consecutive major title.
The 27-year-old has already claimed the 2026 Chevron Championship and the 2026 US Women's Open this season. A win at the 2026 KPMG Women's PGA Championship would make her just the third LPGA player to capture the year's first three majors — and the first since Inbee Park in 2013.
Beyond that, however, a trophy would clinch her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame.
The LPGA's points-based system requires 27 for entry, and Korda currently sits at 25. Major wins are worth two points, so one more major title seals a spot for the young US star.
Nelly Korda Stays Focused on PGA Championship, Not Hall of Fame
Of course, Korda isn't thinking about the math. She admitted Wednesday that she didn't even know her current point total or the threshold needed to secure her LPGA Hall of Fame entry.
"I kind of like to be oblivious about it in that way," Korda told reporters.
"I don’t want to put extra pressure on myself. I feel like the game of golf is already hard enough. If I add more pressure on myself then it’s going to be even harder."
Instead, she's leaning on her preparation. Korda has posted four wins and three runner-up finishes in her first eight LPGA Tour starts this season. That record has her entering Thursday's opening Women's PGA Championship round with a simple plan: trust her game and block out the noise.